Florida service member killed in Kuwait was the 'life of the party,' family says
Capt. Cody A. Khork, 35, was one of six service members killed at Shuaiba port.
One of the six American troops killed in the opening hours of the war with Iran was "the life of the party" and had felt a calling to serve his country at a young age, his family said.
Capt. Cody A. Khork, 35, of Winter Haven, Florida, was one of six service members killed in an Iranian drone strike over the weekend at Shuaiba port in Kuwait, a commercial harbor that doubles as a logistics hub through which the U.S. military ships tactical vehicles and supplies into the region.
Khork was assigned to the 103rd Sustainment Command, an Army Reserve unit based in Des Moines, Iowa. He enlisted in the National Guard in 2009 and was commissioned as a Military Police Officer in the Army Reserve in 2014. He has prior deployments to Saudi Arabia, Guantanamo Bay and Poland.
His life "was defined by devotion, character, and service," his family said in a statement on Wednesday. "Cody was truly the life of the party, known for his infectious spirit, generous heart, and deep care for those who served alongside him and for everyone blessed to know him."
Khork also had a "great love for history" and studied political science at Florida Southern College, where he was enrolled in the Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) program, his family said.
"He was deeply patriotic and took great pride in serving something greater than himself," his family said.
"Above all, Cody found the love of his life and carried that same devotion into both his personal life and his service to this country," his family said. "He lived with purpose, loved deeply, and served honorably. His legacy will endure in the lives he touched, the example he set, and the love of country and family that defined him."
The Pentagon identified three of the service members killed in the Iranian attack as Sgt. 1st Class Noah L. Tietjens, 42, of Bellevue, Nebraska; Sgt. 1st Class Nicole M. Amor, 39, of White Bear Lake, Minnesota; and Sgt. Declan J. Coady, 20, of West Des Moines, Iowa.
The other two names are being withheld until a day after the next of kin have been notified.
An additional 18 service members were wounded in the strike.
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